Nespresso and Royal Mail have partnered to help make coffee pod recycling simpler and more convenient for UK customers.
Coffee drinkers can now arrange for a free doorstep collection from their local postie using Royal Mail’s returns service. Alternatively, the pods can be taken to any of the 14,000-plus Royal Mail drop-off locations across the UK, including the Royal Mail customer service points in retail stores and Post Offices.
It is one of several UK retailer announcements to mark Recycle Week 2023. And research commissioned by Nespresso found despite 91% of Brits claiming they often recycle, many said they find recycling confusing (42%) and difficult (32%).
The Nespresso and Royal Mail tie-up is expected to increase nationwide access to pod recycling.
Anna Lundstrom, CEO of Nespresso UK & Republic of Ireland, said: “Nespresso’s official partnership with Royal Mail brings recycling to the heart of the community, no matter where you live in the UK.
“Royal Mail is not only an iconic British institution, it also is recognised as having the lowest emissions per parcel as their ‘feet on the street’ posties walk up to a billion steps a day. Recycling needs to be convenient, simple, and sustainable – and our partnership with Royal Mail is central to achieving that vision.”
Lundstrom’s “lowest emissions” claim is based on the CO2e emissions per parcel reported by the UK parcel delivery companies who currently make this data publicly available.
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, remarked: “Everyone knows when their postie delivers so it’s really convenient to arrange for them to collect at the same time.
“If customers aren’t going to be in, Royal Mail can also collect from a safe place. To make it even more convenient, if customers don’t have a printer our posties can print and bring the label to the doorstep.”
Knowing the recycling of coffee pods is not a straightforward process, Nespresso also co-founded not-for-profit recycling service Podback, which was launched in 2021. Despite the formation of the Nespresso and Royal Mail partnership, coffee drinkers can still use the Podback service and drop their used capsules at any Nespresso Boutique.
Nespresso said its capsules are made with 80% recycled aluminium and states they are “infinitely recyclable”. Recycled aluminium is turned into new products such as beverage cans and car components, it added.
The coffee brand, which is owned by Nestle, added that used coffee grounds are also used to create soil improver, used on cereal farms in east Yorkshire, and involved in the creation of renewable energy.
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
